RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The gap between wages at the top and bottom ends of the income scale in Virginia has reached a 30-year high, according to a new study released Tuesday.
The top 10 percent of wage earners in Virginia make at least 5.7 times more than those in the bottom 10 percent, according to The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, a Richmond-based think tank. Virginia's wage gap is second only to New Jersey, the study said.
Median wages increased to $17.83 per hour last year, which is 11 percent above the national average and the eighth highest in the U.S. According to the report, wages have increased about 5 percent in Virginia since the start of the economic downturn in 2007, which is the fourth-highest increase in the nation.
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Median household income in Virginia held steady at $60,674 last year, which was 21 percent above the national average and the ninth highest in the country.
However, the recession led to more dramatic swings in wages for men than women and workers with less than a college degree saw sharp declines compared with increases for college-educated workers, the study said.
"The recession has not hit everyone equally. In fact, while many have been hit hard, certain sectors and certain high wage earners have done pretty well," Michael Cassidy, the group's president said in a statement.
Since 2007, average weekly wages rose the most in health care and social assistance, retail, and professional, scientific and technical services, the report said.
Cassidy said the impact of the recession has exacerbated long-term trends in wages and income, "creating a situation that is unbalanced, unequal and which has undercut hard working middle- and low-wage earning Virginians."
Looking forward, the report said that while wages are increasing across all industries, employment levels are not. The study says the largest job losses since the start of the recession have been in middle-wage industries, including hardest-hit manufacturing and construction.
These imbalances represent major setbacks and create "significant and growing distance between poverty and prosperity," Cassidy said.
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